News: 1st Air Cavalry Brigade stands down, stress summer safety

Maj. Daniel Legereit, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Rear Detachment commander, of Metropolis, Ill., exchanges a few words with Soldiers and family members about summer safety during 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div.'s Stand-down Safety Day on June 19 at the West Fort Hood swimming pool.

FORT HOOD, Texas — For the Soldiers and family members of the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, the brigade's Safety Stand-Down Day held June 19, was to emphasize prevention and awareness during the summer season when Soldiers and their families are at greater risk.

Held at the West Fort Hood swimming pool, 1st ACB "Warrior" Rear Detachment commander, Maj. Daniel Legereit, said the brigade wanted to have a day of fun, to welcome its new Soldiers and family members but more importantly to stress summer safety.

The June 26 stand-down will help Soldiers and family members look at ways to prevent incidents and determine what they can do differently to be safer and prevent accidents from happening in the future, said Legereit, of Metropolis, Ill.

''We want our Soldiers and families members to enjoy participating in summer time activities, but to be particularly vigilant when it comes to their safety, Legereit said. "We don't want to lose a single Soldier or family member to a preventable safety mishap."

After the opening remarks, the brigade's Soldiers and family members rotated among various stations to help identify potential off-duty summer hazards, water safety station, lawn equipment safety station, a fire prevention safety station with demonstrations performed by the Fort Hood Fire Department, prevention seatbelt safety station performed by the Fort Hood Military Police, and other recreational and summer safety-related classes.

The opportunity for Soldier and family members to see firsthand how to deal with safety situations will have a larger impact overall on safety awareness for the brigade," said Warrant Officer Damian Stone, 1st ACB.

"Soldiers and family members should be aware of the risks and consequences related with dangerous activities," Stone said. "The ultimate goal of the safety day is to reinforce principles that lessen unnecessary risk and in the end save both Soldiers and family member's lives, by focusing on safety, mishaps and fatalities can be avoided," said Stone, from Ann Arbor, Mich.

Karla Hiquiana, whose husband is deployed to Iraq with 1st ACB, said she's happy that the brigade hasn't forgotten about the families of the deployed Soldiers.

"I think it's awesome that the brigade took the time to have an event like this," said Hiquiana, from Caguas, Puerto Rico. "It allows families the opportunity to get together in a social event and network and share our thoughts with other who might be dealing with some of the same issues."